Brexit Article 50 Process To Be Challenged In Court

The next step in the U.K.'s Brexit process is set to be challenged in court by a group of British businesses, Mishcon de Reya said Sunday. The law firm said it has been asked to prepare a legal challenge that would prevent the U.K. government from triggering Article 50 without an Act of Parliament. For the U.K. to begin negotiations for a withdrawal from the European Union, it must first invoke Article 50. The challenge is based on the view that the June 23 referendum, in which a majority of voters backed a U.K. exit from the EU, was advisory and not legally binding, and so should go before lawmakers. "If the correct constitutional process of parliamentary scrutiny and approval is not followed then the notice to withdraw from the EU would be unlawful, negatively impacting the withdrawal negotiations," Mishcon de Reya said in a statement. As a majority of members of parliament were in favor of remaining in the EU, that requirement could put hurdles in the path to the U.K.'s withdrawal from the single market.